Florida Small Business Owners Support Equality for LGBTQ People

Florida Small Business Owners Support Equality for LGBTQ PeopleNew Polling Finds Majority Support for Nondiscrimination Protections

Wednesday, November 22, 2017 - (ST. PETERSBURG, FL) – As Small BusinessSaturday approaches, Equality Florida is encouraging the public to use their new OpenDoorsFlorida.org mobile directory to find small businesses that have taken a stand for equal rights.

A new poll, conducted for Small Business Majority and released November 16th, 2017, found that a clear majority of Florida small business owners support a ban on discrimination against LGBT employees and customers. Furthermore, they reported that nearly 7 in 10 small business owners believe business owners should not be allowed to deny LGBTQ customers goods or services based on the owner’s religious beliefs, with 58% indicating strong support.

This polling comes just two months after Equality Florida launched a partnership with the Hispanic Federation called Open Doors (Puertas Abiertas), a brand new bilingual resource that spotlights pro-LGBTQ businesses through a mobile-friendly directory. Open Doorsshowcases Equality Florida and Hispanic Federation’s continued efforts to ensure that people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and marginalized communities feel welcome and protected in their daily lives.

Open Doors (Puertas Abiertas) is an easy-to-use mobile site with door-to-door map and search by category features. Currently, there are nearly 1,000 businesses from across the state listed in our directory. This directory will help you find businesses, faith organizations, and other venues in your area that support LGBTQ non-discrimination protections.

Below are additional findings from Small Business Majority’s recent poll:

73% of Florida small business owners would favor a federal law protecting LGBT people from discrimination in places of public accommodation, such as restaurants, hotels and other businesses open to the public.

69% of Florida small business owners would support a Florida state law preventing employment discrimination and 63% would support a federal law.

53% of Florida small business owners say that laws prohibiting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity help attract and retain employees, while 56% feel that such laws contribute to a robust employee pool

73% of Florida small business owners would favor a federal law protecting LGBT people from discrimination in places of public accommodation, such as restaurants, hotels and other businesses open to the public.

“We are proud to see a clear majority of Florida’s small businesses owners confirm what we know to be true: that Floridians are fair-minded, big-hearted, and believe that Florida should be open for business to all, no matter who you are who you love,” said Hannah Willard, Senior Policy Director of Equality Florida. “We call on our state leaders to enact laws that ensure those protections exist all across our state.”

Legislators will have the opportunity to do so in the upcoming session. The Florida Competitive Workforce Act (SB 66 / HB 347), sponsored by Sen. Darryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg) and Reps. Ben Diamond (D-St. Petersburg) and Rene Plasencia (R-Titusville), aims to modernize the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 by adding sexual orientation and gender identity. The protections currently exist only on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, marital or disability status.